Hello hello, dear ones!! Hummingbird here! It’s February in the Valley, which means we are in the heart of a Maine winter– more like Feb-brrrrrrr-ary, am I right??? In the summer, when the grass is green and the sun can be spotted after campers have gone to sleep, many campers ask, “What do the animals do in the winter???” Well, curious campers, let’s fly around camp together and see what our animal friends are up to….
First stop is the llama pen! Llamas and alpacas are naturally suited to cold weather, so they love snowy days up here in Maine. In the winter their wool grows out long and thick, giving them a beautiful, fluffy, built-in coat! Bet you wish you could grow your own jacket too! They spend their day doing pretty much what they always do– eating, sleeping, wandering, and more eating! And of course, making silly faces at the camera! Just the other day Pippin the alpaca was telling me how much he misses the campers, “What do you think THEY do in the winter??” he wondered. Let’s pop over to the animal pen to see what mini-horse Seven is up to…
Seven, pictured below in his snow kingdom, spends his winter patrolling the animal pen with Otis the guard llama. In fact, just the other day the three of us built a snow-llama together! It was tough on my wings, but between Seven and Otis’s hooves and my direction, we got the job done. As many campers know, the animal pen features a cozy indoor area that Seven can find snowless solace in as needed, but for the most part he’s right out there in the snow with the rest of us!
What about our human animals who spend the winter on camp? Our year-round staff have been enjoying all the very best that a Maine winter has to offer. The lake is totally frozen over, so ice skating has been a must! Cross country skiing along camp’s many trails is a favorite winter pastime of Peter and Meg’s. Pretty hard to believe that during the summer these same trails are used for hiking and getting around the different areas of camp. They’re transformed by the snow, making them perfect for skiing throughout the winter season! They’ve built some epic snow-structures, too– check out Tui’s igloo!
Winter makes camp look a little different than the summertime oasis we’re used to, but all our animals– human and otherwise– are keeping up the summer camp spirit of creativity, community, and of course some llama shenanigans! It’s a fun way to wait for our favorite season…. summer!! In just four short months, the days will be long again, the sun will have us all remembering the snow fondly, and CAMPERS WILL BE ARRIVING!!!!!!!!!!
We can’t wait to see you all SO soon! Until then, let us know what YOU do in the winter on our Instagram page @hidden_valley_camp_maine !
I’m off to build another snow-llama!
Hummingbird 🙂
